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Take Ten: New 10-Minute Plays

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A ten-minute play is a streak of theatrical lightning. It doesn't last long, but its power can stand your hair on end. This splendid anthology contains enough wattage to light up a small city. For in its pages, thirty-two of our finest playwrights hone their skills on a form that has been called the haiku of the American stage. The plays that Nina Shengold and Eric Lane have collected in this volume range from monologues to an eight-character farce. Eminently producible, ideally suited for the classroom and audition, Take Ten is a marvelous resource for teachers and students of drama, as well as a stimulating read for lovers of the theatre. Contributors John Augustine, Cathy Celesia, Laura Cunningham, Joe Pintauro, Mary Sue Price, Megan Terry, Jose Rivera, Romulus Linney, David Mamet, Jane Martin, David Ives, and many others.

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 1997

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Eric Lane

60 books4 followers

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5 stars
28 (14%)
4 stars
63 (33%)
3 stars
69 (36%)
2 stars
26 (13%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Alison.
164 reviews7 followers
December 26, 2017
Lots of drinking, sex, and AIDS. Most of the plays were performed in the 90s in NYC, so that pretty much explains it.
Profile Image for Yourfiendmrjones.
162 reviews1 follower
June 19, 2021
As with most anthologies, this is a very mixed bag of work. The ones that stuck with me are the character monologues by accomplished playwrights like Durang, Mamet and Wilson. There are other pieces but nothing noticeable like the ones with one actor connecting directly with an audience while yelling a story.

And yet I love the anthology format. It always has surprises. For instance, reading the piece by David Manner reminded me of why I liked him in the first place. His ability to grab you by the throat with the power of what he’s writing. It felt lost in the past few years. But here, in this collection… something like a lightning bolt.

Pick it up. The great thing about these is, even if you read something forgettable or just plain bad… there’s always something new around the corner.
Profile Image for Sarah Stone.
Author 7 books16 followers
Read
July 22, 2009
A really hard form, but some of these are memorable: Tony Kushner has a satirical take on the playwright food chain that sticks with me and some of the others get quite surreal. Note to self and others: never end a 10-minute play with the two characters dancing slowly as the light fades. Just in case any of us were in danger of doing that...
49 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2010
It's a collection of short plays. Some are good, some are bad. What are you going to do?
Profile Image for Colleen.
138 reviews7 followers
Currently reading
October 8, 2009
I seem to suck at coming up with ideas for 10-minute plays, so I'm trying to learn more about them by seeing what other people have done.
Profile Image for Maggie.
604 reviews17 followers
January 4, 2022
I read through this looking for duo scenes for the improv show I co-produce called "OffBook." While there were some definite gems in the mix, I have to say I was pretty unimpressed by the lack of racial diversity. The playwrights whose works were included here had the diversity of a ream of printing paper, and there's no reason for that. This work was published in 1997; it's not like playwrights of color weren't around! And the subject matter/ settings were hyper-focused on New York. Like, at least 50% of shows referenced NYC as the location, even though most of the time the location was not central to the stories. Listen, I love the Big Apple as much as the next gal, but there's only so many little inside jokes about the Bronx or the East River one can take.

I give props that there are a wide variety of genres represented -- there's surrealism, monologues, comedies, dramas, horror, ensemble chanting; you never knew what was coming next. I mean, you could make a safe guess it was written by and about white people and it was set in New York.

All in all, most of these have not aged super well. Was a bit disheartened that I didn't get more out of this.

Profile Image for Jillian.
1,149 reviews16 followers
February 27, 2023
Wide-ranging collection with some interesting offerings. My favorite by far was "Ferris Wheel" by Mary Miller. A few others that stood out were "A Bowl of Soup" by Eric Lane; "The Man Who Couldn't Dance" by Jason Katims; "The Philadelphia" by David Ives; "That Midnight Rodeo" by Mary Sue Price; and "Judgment Call" by Frederick Stroppel.
Profile Image for Roger Bradbury.
Author 4 books1 follower
September 7, 2018
Thirty ten minute plays and one monologue by August Wilson. The quality and range of the plays chosen is exceptional.
2,368 reviews31 followers
November 10, 2014
I purchased this book used off of ebay. I did so because it includes the play Ferris Wheel by Mary Miller. My research indicated that many Toastmasters read this for the fourth speech in the Interpretive Reading manual.

It's an amusing play about two riders on a Ferris wheel who are both fearful. They fall in love during the course of their ride.

It's listed as a 10-minute play. I read it in just shy of 16 minutes. I have seen YouTube videos that come in at about 14 minutes. Nevertheless, it is a fun play.

I have not read anything else in this anthology to date.
180 reviews6 followers
February 2, 2014
This collection of short plays is pretty interesting, but ultimately this collection of really short plays just wasn't for me. I felt that a play consisting of mostly 2 or 3 page plays wasn't enough to adequately build characters or to bring any sense of urgency to them. Ultimately, the plays felt a little too gimmicky for me and I thought they were trying to hard to be high-art.
98 reviews4 followers
November 7, 2014
Standouts:
The Philadelphia - David Ives

A Bowl of Soup - Eric Lane

Gas - José Rivera

Phone Sex and a Dumb Show - Steven Sater

Welcome to the Moon - John Patrick Shanley

R.A.W. (‘Cause I’m a Woman) - Diana Son

Judgement Call - Frederick Stroppel

Breakfast Serial - Megan Terry
Profile Image for Laura.
647 reviews61 followers
July 6, 2009
I read this for my creative writing class, and it worked perfectly. The selection is terrific, and many of the plays are great. Some are "meh" but that's to be expected. It was tremendously helpful for my students to get these examples of the sub-genre.
38 reviews1 follower
August 2, 2007
My high school senior project was one of these, and when I look back I realize how simple they are. Still, good for people with limited time or experience.
Profile Image for Heather Luff.
15 reviews
April 6, 2009
I was trying to find decent interp material for my debate team. A lot of these are just not school appropriate, too many swears, a bit raunchy.
Profile Image for Amanda Bynum.
192 reviews6 followers
June 1, 2010
I basically got every one-act play I ever directed from this collection. 100% awesome.
1,094 reviews8 followers
August 17, 2010
One I read was Ferris Wheel by MAry Miller 161. Striking in simplicity of lack of real communication between men and women, strangers, and people in general.
Profile Image for Jason.
Author 10 books48 followers
May 21, 2012
read 5 plays. liked Ferris Wheel & Gas.
Profile Image for Sal.
154 reviews4 followers
September 24, 2013
Some good, some not so good. Laura Cunningam's "Flop Cop" and Mary Miller's "Ferris Wheel" were the memorable highlights for me.

Some suffer from not enough info or moving too quickly.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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